


Stick to the Science

by youwillstillbemine



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:20:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29589921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youwillstillbemine/pseuds/youwillstillbemine
Summary: Upon my rewatch and redive into the depths of the obsession, I found myself wanting more from the central romantic relationship of the series. Starting from the beginning (ish), I hope to move through the scenes we have seen, along with a few that we have not. I haven't written creatively in years and I am not a fan of writing dialogue. We'll see where this goes. Feedback appreciated!
Relationships: Delphine Cormier & Cosima Niehaus, Delphine Cormier/Cosima Niehaus
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

The minute she heard the lilt of French, she knew. Cosima hadn’t even needed to look up to know that the loud, unilateral argument was meant for her to hear, even if she didn’t understand its contents. And while she didn’t need to look up, she was glad she did. Dressed in a lab coat much like her own, this woman was striking with her short, curly blonde hair, obviously artificial, according to her roots. Although that may have been unattractive on someone else, this woman did not have to try to maintain her beauty. After she left with flourish, Cosima’s curiosity got the best of her- how was the mystery woman, her potential new monitor- going to play this? Someone had clearly done their research, since Cosima was swayed by a scientific mind. This report card, though probably fake, allowed Cosima to dig a little deeper. She’d grabbed the report card with the intent of doing some light internet stalking, maybe peruse the UMinn directory. What she hadn’t expected was to find this blonde woman quietly crying in the hallway outside of the lab. The crying was anything but subtle- they were in a very public hallway- but Cosima appreciated the effort being put into the performance. 

“Hey, sorry! You just forgot this in the lab. Sorry.” Cosima handed the paper back to this mysterious woman, slowly backing away, questioning where this heartsick act ended and the real person began. With a quick thank you, Cosima could have walked away, but the scientist in her couldn’t help but to engage, willing to play along in order to get any information that might help to crack the metaphorical clone code. That, and it didn’t hurt to flirt a little with a pretty girl.

“Full disclosure, I did peek. Uh, you’re French… you’ve killer grades.” Cosima chuckled, a little nervous, but very much intrigued. Her words clearly had their intended effect as this mystery woman blushed at the compliment, thanking her in a delectable French accent. The act continued, as the blonde wiped her eyes, and apologized, claiming that she isn’t usually like this. 

Seeing the opportunity, Cosima continued to engage, “Oh um, bad breakup?”

“Yeah, well, we’re an ocean apart so…” 

“Hmm, yeah, long distance never works.” Cosima gets that. Even had Emi not become a little too invested, she knew that their relationship would not have lasted through her move to Minneapolis. Although a small part of her lamented that yet another relationship had not worked out, Cosima realized that her words were more so being used to comfort this new person and bring her closer. After they had established their fields of study, the blonde’s being Immunology with a focus in host-parasite relationships and Cosima’s being Evolutionary Development or Evo Devo, as it was affectionately called, Cosima finally learned the name of this intriguing new acquaintance. 

“Delphine,” the blonde purred with a sensual French inflection.

“Cosima,” the dreaded brunette returned, with her casual Northern California accent. 

“Enchanté.”

“Enchanté.” 

Cosima had entered this conversation feeling as though she had the upper hand. With self-awareness and a scientific mind, she felt as though she may have had a more reasonable grasp on the clonespiracy, at least more than Sarah or Alison. However, now, as her brown eyes met the sparkling hazel of Delphine’s, she realized that she would need to be a little more careful in remaining objective in her quest, because heartbreak was not part of the trip.


	2. Chapter 2

Despite coming face-to-face with her new, annoyingly gorgeous, potential new monitor, Cosima had much bigger concerns to deal with. While she was used to her own spurts of impulsivity when it came to women and major life changes, Cosima began to realize just how destructive this trait was in concerns to her newest sister, Sarah. Although she understood the desire to “shoot Paul’s balls off,” she felt more inclined to continue their observational study, waiting to see their own subject’s real intent. 

Unfortunately, all of this clone business, while fascinating, had taken focus away from her doctoral work. Though true that she switched her focus from biochemistry to evolutionary development for the very purpose of researching clone cells, she still had to actually do the work required to get the degree. With this exact thought in mind, she got up early (well, early for her) in an effort to actually be on time. Having spent the morning with a mug of matcha and some recent Nature articles, she proceeded to dress in tights and a dress, wrapping a scarf around her neck and donning her signature red coat. Her choice of heeled boots completed the outfit, though may not serve her well for any hardcore snowfall. 

Burdened by books, bags, and clone drama, Cosima hopped off of the metro and made her way to the library, stopping for some Caribou Coffee on the way. She sipped at the midwestern favorite, making a mental note to find a coffeehouse with less mainstream vibes. As she climbed the stairs to her favorite study floor, her clone phone rang. The satisfaction Cosima felt in getting confirmation of the double-blind trial quickly transformed into annoyance as Sarah wrote Cosima off as the geek monkey of the group who was only relevant when it came to sticking to the science. As Cosima wandered through the library’s many volumes, focused on arguing with Sarah, she almost walked into the very subject of their conversation. Delphine smiled shyly, standing nearby to make her presence known but not being the first one to engage. 

As a creature of habit and a product of lifelong academia, Cosima knew that her best work came from being holed up in cozy spaces like the dusty stacks on the desolate 6th floor of the library or in her dark, messy little home with a lit joint in her hand. However, after hanging up with Sarah, Cosima opted for the open study area, telling herself that she needed to “change it up.” 

Having sat down for less than fifteen minutes to study, she neglected her notes and journal articles to peer over at her reason for needing a change; Delphine had conveniently sat at an adjacent table but was yet again, not initiating interaction. Cosima wondered how many monitors had been assigned to her previously, only to be replaced when she hadn’t given them the time of day. Whoever hired this one seemed to know what they were doing- this girl was just her type. Fueled by righteous indignation, Cosima stood from her books and stalked toward her prey.

“Hey… Delphine!”

“Hey! Bonjour, Cosima,” Delphine looked up from the page she was highlighting. 

“I’m bored,” Cosima added as wide puppy-dog eyes looked up at her. 

“Well you know there’s this lecture today that I was going to see.” Delphine searched through her notes before handing the electric blue flyer to Cosima. “I was going to, if you want to come with me.” 

Cosima’s slight skepticism transformed to full-blown cynicism, “Neolutionism? Really?” 

“You’ve heard of it?” Delphine looks pleased and Cosima can’t help but judge her for it.

“Yeah, it’s kind of fringe, don’t you think?” 

“Well, I think that as a Darwinist, it would interest you and this Dr. Leekie is a really, really interesting speaker. I saw his TedTalk online…” She trails off with a big puff of air, clearly infatuated with the idea of this Dr. Leekie. 

Cosima watches this reaction, suspicious of Delphine’s intentions. “Hmm.” She decides to play along because, damn, just look at her.

Delphine’s eyes open wider as she leans in, “sooo?” 

There is no way she doesn’t know the effect she has on Cosima, who contemplates and then responds “Sure, why not?” 

She knows “why not” but she rationalizes that her self-awareness and intellect can supersede whatever weird science game this chick is playing.


End file.
